Electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance

Abstract

A system for testing the electrical components of vehicles during manufacturing includes a hand held tester to which a translator unit can be detachably engaged and with which the tester is in RF communication. The translator unit can be detached from the tester and plugged into a test receptacle under a vehicle's dashboard to communicate with the vehicle by translating computer formatted data from the tester to vehicle bus-formatted data, and vice-versa. Then, the vehicle's VIN is scanned into the tester or manually input into the tester, and the tester transmits the VIN via an RF link in the assembly plant to a computer in the plant. Based on the VIN, the computer determines the electric equipment that the vehicle has, and the computer transmits this information back to the tester. The tester then determines which tests to execute, and the tester causes the translator unit to undertake these tests. The translator transmits the test results back to the tester which in turn transmits the results to the computer. A portable current module can be provided that monitors the current drawn from the vehicle's battery during the testing and for communicating this data to the tester via RF link.

We claim: 
     
       1. An electrical test system for a vehicle, comprising: at least one portable tester;   a translator in communication with the tester, the translator being connectable to a test receptacle in the vehicle for communicating data between the tester and the vehicle;   a computer in radiofrequency (RF) communication with the tester for communicating data representative of the vehicle between the computer and the tester; and   plural RF transceivers positioned for communicating with the tester, some of the RF transceivers comprising repeater transceivers and at least one of the RF transceivers comprising a central transceiver, the repeater transceivers communicating with the tester and with the central transceiver via RF.   
     
     
       2. The system of claim 1, wherein the tester includes a microprocessor and a battery for energizing the microprocessor. 
     
     
       3. The system of claim 2, wherein the tester includes a tester housing and a bar code reader mounted on the housing in communication with the microprocessor for receiving bar coded vehicle identification numbers (VIN). 
     
     
       4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a tester antenna mounted on the tester housing. 
     
     
       5. The system of claim 1, wherein a vehicle to be tested includes a vehicle communication bus over which messages having a vehicle communication protocol are communicated, and the translator is configured for translating messages generated by the microprocessor into the vehicle communication protocol. 
     
     
       6. The system of claim 5, wherein the translator includes a voltage monitor to generate voltage signals representative of the voltage of the vehicle communication bus when the translator is engaged with the receptacle of the vehicle. 
     
     
       7. The system of claim 6, wherein the translator communicates with the tester via RF. 
     
     
       8. The system of claim 7, wherein the translator is selectively engageable with the tester, and wherein the translator can be disengaged from the tester by hand by a person, without requiring tools. 
     
     
       9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a current monitor in communication with the tester and engageable with a battery of a vehicle to be tested, the current monitor generating a signal representative of the current drawn from the battery during testing. 
     
     
       10. The system of claim 9, wherein the current monitor includes an antenna for communicating with the tester via RF. 
     
     
       11. The system of claim 1, wherein a vehicle to be tested is located at a vehicle assembly plant, and the tester can communicate with at least one of the RF transceivers substantially everywhere the tester is located at the plant. 
     
     
       12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an ethernet connecting the central transceiver to the computer. 
     
     
       13. The system of claim 12, wherein the tester includes a tester transceiver. 
     
     
       14. The system of claim 13, wherein the translator includes a translator transceiver. 
     
     
       15. A system for assuring the quality of a vehicle's electrical system without requiring a dedicated segment for electrical testing on a vehicle assembly line, comprising: at least one portable tester for generating test protocols based on a vehicle identification number (VIN);   a system computer in wireless communication with the tester for receiving the VIN from the tester and for transmitting salescode data to the tester, the tester generating the test protocols in response to the salescode data; and   a plurality of RF transceivers positioned to establish communication with the tester, wherein some of the RF transceivers comprise repeater transceivers and at least one of the RF transceivers comprises a central transceiver, the repeater transceivers communicating with the tester and with the central transceiver via RF.   
     
     
       16. The system of claim 15, further comprising: a translator in communication with the tester, the translator being connectable to a test receptacle in a vehicle for communicating data between the tester and the vehicle.   
     
     
       17. The system of claim 16, wherein the tester includes: a microprocessor;   a battery for energizing the microprocessor;   a tester housing;   a bar code reader mounted on the housing in communication with the microprocessor for receiving bar coded vehicle identification numbers (VIN); and   a tester antenna mounted on the tester housing.   
     
     
       18. The system of claim 17, wherein a vehicle to be tested includes a vehicle communication bus over which messages having a vehicle communication protocol are communicated, the translator being configured for translating messages generated by the microprocessor into the vehicle communication protocol, the translator including: a voltage monitor to generate voltage signals representative of the voltage of the vehicle communication bus when the translator is engaged with the receptacle of the vehicle.   
     
     
       19. The system of claim 18, wherein the translator communicates with the tester via RF, the translator being selectively engageable with the tester, and wherein the translator can be disengaged from the tester by hand by a person, without requiring tools. 
     
     
       20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a current monitor in communication with the tester and engageable with a battery of a vehicle to be tested, the current monitor generating a signal representative of the current drawn from the battery during testing, the current monitor including an antenna for communicating with the tester via RF. 
     
     
       21. The system of claim 15 wherein a vehicle to be tested is located at a vehicle assembly plant, and the tester can communicate with at least one of the RF transceivers substantially everywhere the tester is located at the plant. 
     
     
       22. The system of claim 15 further comprising an ethernet connecting the central transceiver to the computer. 
     
     
       23. A vehicular wiring system test system, comprising: at least one portable tester for communicating test protocols to the wiring system;   a computer in wireless communication with the tester for communicating data to the tester to facilitate the tester generating test protocols to test the wiring system; and   a plurality of RF transceivers positioned to establish communication with the tester, some of the RF transceivers comprising repeater transceivers and at least one of the RF transceivers comprising a central transceiver, the repeater transceivers communicating with the tester and with the central transceiver via RF.   
     
     
       24. The system of claim 23, further comprising: a translator in communication with the tester, the translator being connectable to a test receptacle in a vehicle for communicating data between the tester and the vehicle.   
     
     
       25. The system of claim 24, wherein the tester includes: a microprocessor;   a battery for energizing the microprocessor;   a tester housing;   a bar code reader mounted on the housing in communication with the microprocessor for receiving bar coded vehicle identification numbers (VIN); and   a tester antenna mounted on the tester housing.   
     
     
       26. The system of claim 25, wherein a vehicle to be tested includes a vehicle communication bus over which messages having a vehicle communication protocol are communicated, the translator being configured for translating messages generated by the microprocessor into the vehicle communication protocol, the translator including: a voltage monitor to generate voltage signals representative of the voltage of the vehicle communication bus when the translator is engaged with the receptacle of the vehicle.   
     
     
       27. The system of claim 26, wherein the translator communicates with the tester via RF, and wherein the translator is selectively engageable with the tester, and wherein the translator can be disengaged from the tester by hand by a person, without requiring tools. 
     
     
       28. The system of claim 27, further comprising a current monitor in communication with the tester and engageable with a battery of a vehicle to be tested, the current monitor generating a signal representative of the current drawn from the battery during testing, the current monitor including an antenna for communicating with the tester via RF. 
     
     
       29. The system of claim 23 wherein a vehicle to be tested is located at a vehicle assembly plant, and the tester can communicate with at least one of the RF transceivers substantially everywhere the tester is located at the plant. 
     
     
       30. The system of claim 23 further comprising an ethernet connecting the central transceiver to the computer.